Everyone tells anxious teenagers to "just breathe." She teaches them how.
Everyone tells an anxious teenager to "just breathe" — but too often no one teaches them how. Liina Täht, Estonia's first certified 9D Breathwork facilitator, introduces young people to 9D breathwork journeys as a practical way to learn to cope better with stress, anxiety and emotional overload.
"Just breathe." An anxious young person hears it often — before a test, in a difficult moment or in the middle of a panic attack. The advice itself isn't wrong. But once the body is already in alarm mode, simply knowing that you "should calm down" may not be enough.
Liina works to give young people a practical experience and skills that help them better notice their body, emotions and stress responses, and support their own calming.
A generation whose nervous system never gets to rest
Today's young people are growing up in a world where the nervous system can be under constant load. School, social media, high expectations, relationships and constant change can build up into stress, anxiety, sleep problems and emotional exhaustion.
In that state, words and good advice alone don't always help. Sometimes the body needs a chance to step out of tension and experience a calmer state.
That is where Liina's work with young people begins.
Who is Liina Täht?
Liina Täht is Estonia's first certified 9D Breathwork facilitator and a trauma-informed breathing guide. She works with both individual clients and groups, and her work centres on nervous-system regulation and on creating a safe space where a person can learn to better understand their own body, emotions and stress responses.
"I believe conscious breathing is one of the simplest — and at the same time most powerful — skills a person can carry with them for life."
What is a 9D breathwork journey?
A 9D breathwork journey is not therapy or medical treatment. It is a supportive, guided experience in which breathing is combined with a specially created, multi-layered sound environment.
During a session, the participant puts on headphones, lies down comfortably and is guided through the whole process. The aim of the breathing and the sound environment is to help the body move from tension towards a calmer state and to support better awareness of one's body and emotions.
There is nothing to know in advance and nothing to prove to anyone. Everything happens in a safe and non-judgemental space, and every young person can move through the experience at their own pace.
Many young people say that after a session they feel calmer and lighter — some say they experience deep inner calm for the first time in a long while.
"The goal is not to change or fix anyone, but to give young people practical skills they can use in everyday life too."
How can a 9D breathwork journey support a young person?
According to Liina, a 9D breathwork journey can support a young person in coping with stress and anxiety, help reduce physical tension, and support nervous-system regulation, concentration and calming.
Just as important is the practical side of the experience. A young person learns to better notice what happens in their body during stress or strong emotion, and takes away breathing-based techniques they can use in everyday life too.
This way breathing doesn't stay just a "calm down" suggestion, but becomes a skill a young person can consciously use in the moment they need it.
What it is not
Liina underlines it herself: a 9D breathwork journey does not replace the role of a psychologist, psychiatrist or other necessary professional help.
It is a supportive method that can be used alongside professional help, not instead of it. The aim is not to promise that one session solves everything, but to give a young person one more practical way to understand and support themselves and their nervous system.
Support for parents too
Liina believes that supporting a young person often starts with a conscious adult.
That's why she also wants to share practical knowledge with parents — how to support a child during anxiety or panic, which simple breathing exercises can help with calming, how to notice when a child needs more support, and how to create a calmer, safer environment at home.
The aim is to give families skills they can use after the meeting too, and that help a parent better understand and support their child.
Why we're sharing this
Heategu Koos looks for and shares initiatives that help children, young people and families in Estonia cope and live better.
Liina Täht's wish to bring 9D breathwork journeys to young people is one of those initiatives — practical, supportive and focused on young people's wellbeing.
We don't sell anyone a spot and we don't promise miracles. We bring forward people and ideas worth knowing.
If you know a young person, a community or a school this kind of support could matter to, let us know. Sometimes all it takes for a good initiative to spread is for the right person to hear about it.